NOTES AND COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 1, 1 July 1935, Page 13

NOTES AND COMMENTS

THE PLAYERS REVIEWED

Play in the Wellington College Old Boys-ivlarist Brothers Old Boys match at Athletic Park was restricted to .40 minutes each way, a late start having been made on account or the hockey Test not'finishing until after 3 o clock. For the display that was turned on, the 40-minute spells in the Rugby match were quite long enough. M W * * Butler playing his last game for Marist, was a conspicuous figure among the forwards. It was not his fault that the team's performance was extremely poor. In the second spell particularly, Butler did his utmost to get the backs operating to good, purpose, but his efforts were unavailing. Butler, who gains his Wellington representative blazer through having Played against Taranaki last week, left last night for Auckland. The strong arm of the law was used to good purpose at Athletic Park on. Saturday. At one stage of the match Rooke, the Wellington College Old Boys' full-back, retired to the touchline with a thumb out of joint. Near at hand was Constable Mcßae, a former Marist player, and he immediately took charge of Rooke. A sharp tug at the affected thumb indicated to the player what a policeman's strong grip is like. It did the trick, and Rooke was immediately released to resume his place, appreciative of the service given. Later in the game Rooke had to retire with slight concussion. Some smart work was done by Hollis for Old Boys -in the match against Marist. Though' the general play was poor, Hollis was one to provide some bright patches. . Langdon endeavoured to- vary his play for Marist against Old Boys, but there was always a close watch on his efforts to cut through. The same applied to the efforts made by G. Reynolds, and Atkins for Old Boys. <i ■ a » ■•' • ■ Sadler, the Old Boys' half-back who is getting ready for the big tour, was harassed a good deal by the fast-break-ing Marist forwards on Saturday, but he showed up well in several quickmoving efforts, one of which produced a fine try. Lamason's place-kicking was one of the features of the College Old BoysMarist match, and it contributed 11 of the 17 points. Several of Lamason's unsuccessful kicks went very close. M. Wright and McNeile were verymuch in the picture for Old Boys. They have plenty of pace for forwards and they use it well. The Eastbourne backs again demonstrated that they are a dangerous force once on the move and, with a plentiful supply of, the ball from their forwards, they ftept up a relentless attack that Oriental were unable to check. Time and again the ball sped through to their wingers, Walling and Common, who both turned their opportunities to good purpose and finished up all square with two tries each. Common was the outstanding player in "the Eastbourne back division. He possesses plenty of pace and shows every promise of a developing into a first-class wing three-quarter. Oriental will have to show a vast improvement if they hope to attain any success in the first division. Their play against Eastbourne last Saturday was well below the standard expected from a team in this division, and there can be no doubt that their ragged display seriously affected the performance of their opponents. Oriental commenced proceedings with only ten players, but the fortunate arrival of the remaining five at a later stage prevented what would otherwise have resolved itself into a debacle. Wilkinson acquitted himself with distinction in the Oriental-Eastbourne game, and he was the only player in the Oriental back division who was able to handle with any degree of accuracy. He seems to have a good understanding with Humpherson, and it was unfortunate for Oriental that this pair did not see more of the ball than they did. Crisp (Eastbourne) gave his usual sound display in the full-back position, but would have done better if he had not shown an inclination to join in! with the other backs in various movements. Not only is he unsuited as an attacking back but the practice often found him out of position and had his side in trouble on numerous occasions. J. Plank again proved that he has a good knowledge of the requirements of a player in the first five-eighth position. He has a quick eye for an opening, runs with determination, and knows just when to part with the ball. He found excellent support in Fleming and this pair paved the way for the majority of the tries scored by Eastbourne. ' 0 ■ <i » * The Eastbourne forwards had a day out in their game against Oriental, and their hookers heeled the ball from 90 per cent, of the scrummages. Although a much lighter pack than Oriental they worked with far more cohesion and gave their backs a veritable feast of the ball from scrums, line-outs, and rucks. Two notable absentees were J. and N. Dellabarca, who would undoubtedly have made a great difference had they been on deck. Waite. Avery, and Griffiths were prominent toilers in the Eastbourne van and were always in the thick of everything. Waite, in particular, was outstanding and Avery provided a bright interlude when he ran up in support

of Walling from whom he received the | ball and, cutting in nicely, scored in a good position. The Oriental forwards gave a very disappointing exhibition in their game against Eastbourne, and their play was entirely devoid of enthusiasm and dash. Powell was probably the best of them, and Searle and Ramsay were quick to make the most use of their opportunities. Ramsay proved to be quite a useful player in the wing-forward berth allotted to him and broke up several attacks by the Eastbourne inside backs. He also kicked a penalty and converted two tries. :D. Plank did not play as well as he has done in the previous two games. Ko was suffering from an attack o£ infipenza and would have been well ad-1 vised not to have played. However, it is fully expected that this colourful centre-three-quarter will again be in good form next Saturday. The game between Petone and Athletic was one of fast, quickly-breaking forwards, who gave the backs little chance of getting really well away. There were few purely back movements of any magnitude in the match. Prominent among the foi*wards were Whittington, Lambourn, and Reid for Petone, and Watson, Coutts, Wells, and Wales for Athletic. The last-mentioned player is a newcomer in senior ranks, and fully justified his promotion. A very fine display of full-back play was given by Mclntyre, of Athletic. He let very little get past him, and usually managed to be in the right place. This player has a good turn of speed and a very powerful and accurate kick. The Petone backs had those of Athletic shaded on the few occasions they got into action. Spence, Hudson, and Pollock operated well together,' and formed an admirable combination, both oil attack and defence. *.- a * * In the first part of the game, the Athletic backs were anything but impressive. Playing as first five-eighths, Tindill made the best of what opportunities he had, but the ball seldom got to the three-quarter line. When Tindill and Karsten changed places, however, there was an improvement. Tindill made one solo run which came close to a score. He also missed narrowly with two drop-kicks at goal. Jack played a fast and unflagging game which several times brought him close to scoring. The Hult backs were far from being at full strength in the match against Wellington. Hansen and Lilburne were notable absentees. Cochrane took Lilburne's place, and did quite creditably under the circumstances, but was afTected by injuries and ended up by playing full-back. Phillips took Hansen's place, going out to the wing, Ball being centre-three-quarter.. Phillips was sound without being impressive. None of the Hutt backs was particularly good on attack, but all deserve credit for sound defensive work. The Wellington backs threw the ball about, but were never able to get across the line. Feeney was called on to do a lot, and did well. Ball was the most impressive on attack, with Nees showing out in patches. <i * O * Coulston obtained the ball from the majority of the scrums for Hutt. He was a solid worker all the time. Barry was perhaps the' best forward in his side, The ex-All Black has been well up to form this season. Against Wellington he led the forwards in loose rushes. Lynch ably took the place of Stevenson, who was injured the previous Saturday. Saulbrey showed up from time to time, and Peck used his height to advantage in the line-out. Cresswell was a tower of strength for Wellington as full-back. He took the ball well, gained the line with well-directed kicks, and his tackling was really good. He brought Phillips down from behind with a magnificent tackle when the fast Hutt winger had an open field in front of him. Jarman (Hutt) was called on to do a great deal, and acquitted himself well. He came up into-the five-eighths in the closing stages of the game. Page was the outstanding back on ] the field in the Hutt-Wellington match. He started off as centre-three-quarter, but through weak play of the second five-eighth did not receive many chances. Later, when Fong went wing-three-quarter, Page played great football. He made some brilliant openings, drew his man, and passed with precision. His tackling was deadly. The other backs played well, without being outstanding. The'best of the Wellington forwards was Tapley. He put great dash into his play throughout the match, and a number of times he was seen out in the open with the ball in his hands. A few more games like the one on Saturday should put him in the running for representative honours. Donnelly, Fraser-Smith, Climo, and Cathie .were others to impress in a good pack. Andrews is suffering from a torn leg muscle, and will probably not take the field for Hutt again this season. t . Kilby outplayed his vis-a-vis, Greenbank, in the match on the Hutt Recreation Ground. Kilby's passes from the scrum were excellent, he made j some nice openings, and his defensive work was of the usual high standard. Greenbank, however, did well. . Trenchard is Johnsonville's best forward, and in the match with Poneke he was outstanding. Playing a solid game in the tight, holding his own as hooker, he was also in the van in the loose rushes, and initiated many movements. I-Vel ble, the ex-Hawkas Bay representative centre, played no small part in Ponekc's win. He was always sure in his handling, and tooK the ball at top speed. Possessing strength and weig) t. he was able repeatedly to brush his opponents aside and open up loi his supports. M. Kenny (Johnsonville.) played his j best game to date at full-back, and fielded the ball faultlessly, especially when Poneke were trying to open up play in the closing stages. His linekicking also was powerful and accurate and his tackling sure. Ward (Poneke) had practically no opportunities on the wing. Hegglun showed pace, but was well marked. Hull, Ongley, Crichton, and Stone were Poneke's scrum leaders, but every forward pulled his weight. Johnsonville's weakness on Saturday was the youthfulness and inexperience of the backs; elsewhere the side held its own. Bowler and Bchrant were two solid workers for Johnsonville, whilst A. Kenny, a last-year Wellington representative, showed his clas, and was in all the tight and loose play. t: « ■ . . • Johnsonville fielded four Maoris in their fifteen on Saturday. They were A. Kenny (forward), M. Kenny (fullback), T. Welsh (wing-three-quarter— but usually five-eighth), and Wallace (forward) '. Poneke spelled Griffiths on Saturday. He was emergency back. N. Ball, Poneke's other All Black, was an absentee. The decided slope on the Newtown Park ground had a definite bearing on the Wellington-Old Boys second division match on Saturday. Playing down the slope in the first half, the Old Boys pack held their own fairly well, and gave their backs a reasonable share of the ball. When the teams turned round, however, the Wellington forwards immediately took an. unrelaxing grip on the game, and their backs were continually in possession. Old Boys (second fifteen) have a most promising first five-eighths in Gray. Strong and compactly built, he ran ' with dash and determination against Wellington, and took a lot of

stopping. He might well indeed have exploited his ability a little further to the extent of going on his own a little more. Newman (Wellington), though hardly as successful as on the previous Saturday, handled and kicked well, but had a decided day oft in the place-kicking line, failing to find the sticks from easy shots.